Improvement in windlasses



v UNITED STATES PATENT GEEIc.

GEOEGE W. HOLMES, OE EEIDGEWATEE, MASsAoHUsE'r'r/s.

IMPROVEMENT IN WINDLASSES.

Specification forming p art of Letters Patent No. 62.045, dat-ed January 16, 1866.

T o all wlw/m it may concern:

Beit known 'that' I, GEORGE W. HOLMES, of Bridgewater, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new land useful- Improvement in Windlasses,

. wheel and the brake, pawl, and ratchet, to be hereinafter described; Fig. 3 is a top view of the crank and its vfriction-brake.

\In carrying out my invention I aii'ix on the t shaft aof the windlass A a ratchet, b, and also a friction-wheel, B, whose rim c projects on one side of the disk or body of the wheel. The said ratchet and friction-wheel I arrange within a case, C, which turns freely on the windlass-shaft and has a ratchet, d, fastened on its rear side, a pawl, e, projecting from the frame D, on which the windlass is supported, being employed in connection with such lastnamed ratchet. f

The case G carries a crank, E, which turns on a pin, o, extending through the case, and has an arm, E, projecting from it andl into the friction-wheel and over tho ratchet within such wheel. The'part fofl the arm constitutes a brake to-act against the inner surface of the rim of the friction-wheel, and there is a tooth` or projection, g, from the arm, which, when the arm is forced toward theA ratchet,serves to so engage the crank with the shaft of the windlass as to enable a person to turn 'the said windlass by means otthe crank. At-'ter the windlass may have elevated a body sus pended from it, the crank, bya short movement, may be thrown out of engagement with the ratchet, and .the friction-brake may be borne against the interior periphery of the frictionwheel, so as not only to allow of the descent of the body raised by the windlass, but to check the downward fallI ot' the body or prevent it from descending tooA rapidly.

By means of the pawl e and the ratchet ol the case C can be adjusted on the windlassshaft to the most convenient position for the vpersonat the crank to apply his strength to regulate, by the crank and brake to the best, advantage; the fall of the body raised bythe windlass, whether such body bethe bucket of a 4well or of any other description. l

' l do not claim coupling a crank to a`wind`- lass-shaft in such manner that the said crank be instantly uncoupled from the said shaft and be used as a brake-leverfor the purpose ot'- checking or controlling the reverse movements of the windlass. Nor do'I claim arranging a crank with a windlass-shaft, a ratchet, and a pawl in such manner that the in'- stant the said crank is uncoupled from the windlass-shaft a further action upon the said crank will relieve the ratchet from the act-ion of the pawl, and also cause a friction-brake to soact upon the windlass-shaft as to check yor control its reverse movements. Mynvention, although operating in an analogous manner, is an improved arrangement Ot' parts for eii'ecting such results. Furthermore,` it will be seen that by my said arrangement the brake ot' the crank works within the friction-wheel and' against its inner periphery, all of which not only simplifies theconstrnction of the mechanism, but affords other advantages. y

What, therefore, I claim as my invention isl as follows: V

l; M yim proved arrangement ofthe frictionwheelB, the brake f, the crankEl, the tooth g, and the ratchet b, as described, the whole bein g applied to a case or itsV equivalent, and to a windlass, A, and to operate substantially as. specified.V

2. The combination of the auxiliarypawl e and ratchet' d with the windlass A, the. case C, the crankE, the brake f, the tooth g, and the ratchetb the whole being to operate substantially as described.

. GEO. W. HOLMES.

Witnesses I R. H.- EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr. 

